Two Separate Fires Broke Out at Kovan Residential Unit; Second Blaze Was an Electrical Fire

Firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force are used to putting out fires because it’s what they do for a living.

If a call comes in quick enough, they can rush to the scene of the fire and extinguish it before it causes any damage or injuries.

But what happens if a second fire suddenly breaks out while you’re attempting to put off the first?

That’s exactly what happened recently at a house in Kovan.

Two Separate Fires Broke Out at Kovan Residential Unit

A fire broke out in a semi-detached house in Kovan on Sunday morning (4 Apr).

A video of SCDF firefighters attempting to put out the blaze was posted to Reddit on the same day by a witness who was at the site and recorded the incident.

At the beginning of the video, black smoke can be seen billowing out of the residential home as firefighters outside the unit prepare their hoses.

Several firefighters were already inside the home, presumably looking for the source of the blaze.

Then, at the 23-second mark, as the firefighters are about to use their hoses, another fire breaks out within the unit and a loud zapping sound can be heard. Some sparks can also be seen.

Plumes of grey smoke then pour out of the unit as the sound of another approaching ambulance can be heard.

The firefighters then prepare to enter the flat, and the video ends there.

Second Blaze Was an Electrical Fire

One netizen suspected it was an electrical fire and questioned why the firefighters used water to put it out.

The witness who shared the video explained that the firefighters used water for the first fire. Then, when the electrical explosion occurred, they switched to the dry powder fire extinguishers.

When asked what firefighters typically do in the event of an electrical fire, the witness said they first shut off the main power for the row of houses near the affected unit and bring in an external generator for temporary use.

The witness later confirmed that the incident occurred at 38 Charlton Lane.

Electrical Fires the Leading Cause of Fires

According to SCDF’s statistics for 2020, fires caused by electrical origin was the leading cause of all fires, accounting for 29% of all fires in 2020.

In total, SCDF responded to 1,877 calls last year – a decrease of 34.4% from 2,862
in 2019.

There were 184 fire injuries in total and one fire fatality, which was related to the residential fire incident at Block 123 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 on 13 February 2020.

Featured Image: Reddit